Medium and Genre: manga; coming-of-age, sports, and supernatural according to wikipedia; slice of life magical realism by my reckoning
Year Released: 1998-2003
Blurb: When average 6th grader Shindō Hikaru finds an old Go board in his grandfather's warehouse, he is possessed by the spirit of Fujiwara no Sai, a master Go player who lived about a thousand years ago, and from that moment his life changed forever. Although Hikaru originally had no interest in the old board game, through spending time with Sai he gradually comes to appreciate the game and Sai becomes his guardian mentor and teaches the game to him. Thanks to Sai's actions, Hikaru manages to catch the attention of a young go prodigy his own age, Tōya Akira. The two develop a mutual interest in each other and Hikaru dedicates himself to studying the game so that he may become a player worthy of Akira.
Why is it worth your time?: Because only Hikaru can see and hear Sai and they talk to each other in his head, the way the two live together is very similar to the experiences of many plural systems, especially the "host and soulbond" type. The story portrays their relationship and their struggles in a very human way that a lot of systems might find relatable. It was this story that first motivated me to get in touch with my system. Also the gay subtext between Hikaru and Akira is so strong it might as well just be considered text. Since it's early 2000's Shōnen Jump there is no official confirmation of the nature of their feelings for each other, but I wouldn't consider it queerbaiting either; it is what it is.
Plural Tags: Spirit possession
Content Warnings: The major content warning I can think of is very relevant for plural systems but is also a spoiler, I'm not sure how to note this.
Accessibility Notes: As far as I know there is no script for the manga so it's not screenreader accessible, however the anime by Studio Pierrot follows the manga reasonably closely. Unfortunately the anime doesn't cover the entire manga and the english voice acting is not very good, so if you listen to the dub I recommend listening to the original Japanese voice acting to get a sense of how everyone actually sounds.
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Date: 2022-07-28 02:23 am (UTC)Creator/s: Hotta Yumi (Author) Obata Takeshi (illustrator)
Medium and Genre: manga; coming-of-age, sports, and supernatural according to wikipedia; slice of life magical realism by my reckoning
Year Released: 1998-2003
Blurb: When average 6th grader Shindō Hikaru finds an old Go board in his grandfather's warehouse, he is possessed by the spirit of Fujiwara no Sai, a master Go player who lived about a thousand years ago, and from that moment his life changed forever. Although Hikaru originally had no interest in the old board game, through spending time with Sai he gradually comes to appreciate the game and Sai becomes his guardian mentor and teaches the game to him. Thanks to Sai's actions, Hikaru manages to catch the attention of a young go prodigy his own age, Tōya Akira. The two develop a mutual interest in each other and Hikaru dedicates himself to studying the game so that he may become a player worthy of Akira.
Why is it worth your time?:
Because only Hikaru can see and hear Sai and they talk to each other in his head, the way the two live together is very similar to the experiences of many plural systems, especially the "host and soulbond" type. The story portrays their relationship and their struggles in a very human way that a lot of systems might find relatable. It was this story that first motivated me to get in touch with my system.
Also the gay subtext between Hikaru and Akira is so strong it might as well just be considered text. Since it's early 2000's Shōnen Jump there is no official confirmation of the nature of their feelings for each other, but I wouldn't consider it queerbaiting either; it is what it is.
Plural Tags: Spirit possession
Content Warnings: The major content warning I can think of is very relevant for plural systems but is also a spoiler, I'm not sure how to note this.
Accessibility Notes: As far as I know there is no script for the manga so it's not screenreader accessible, however the anime by Studio Pierrot follows the manga reasonably closely. Unfortunately the anime doesn't cover the entire manga and the english voice acting is not very good, so if you listen to the dub I recommend listening to the original Japanese voice acting to get a sense of how everyone actually sounds.